Malicious code attacks continued to have significant economic impact during 2001. The following figures show the Computer Economics analysis of the worldwide economic impact of malicious code attacks. Data is provided by year and for specific high profile incidents.

FIGURE 1 Analysis by Year

Year

Worldwide Economic Impact($ U.S. Billions)

2001

$13.2

2000

17.1

1999

12.1

1998

6.1

1997

3.3

1996

1.8

1995

0.5

The Computer Economics Cyber Attack Index shows the relative economic impact of specific incidents in relationship to the I Love You (Love Bug) outbreak which occurred in 2000 and to date remains the incident with the greatest economic impact. In Figure 2 the Love Bug attack has a rating of 10 and all other attacks are rated according to their relative economic impact.

FIGURE 2 Analysis by Incident

Year

CodeName

WorldwideEconomic Impact($ U.S.)

CyberAttackIndex

2001

Nimda

$635 Million

0.73

2001

Code Red(s)

2.62 Billion

2.99

2001

SirCam

1.15 Billion

1.31

2000

Love Bug

8.75 Billion

10.00

1999

Melissa

1.10 Billion

1.26

1999

Explorer

1.02 Billion

1.17

For current analysis of the economic impact of malware attacks and other matters related to IT security, please refer to our research section on Risk Management (left margin).